How People Read on the Web (and How to Write for the Web)

People read way differently on the web than they do with print, and that’s a fact. In order to produce highly successful web copy, you have to change your writing style to suite how people read online. This vital reality is the guiding principle of all persuasive copy.

People have short attention spans when it comes to absorbing websites, pages and content. It follows then that your web copy should fit into the average user’s reading behavior. If you abide by this simple rule, then you’ll eventually get more site visitors, greater conversions and more engaged users. If you don’t abide by this rule, then you’ll end up with a B2B site that barely anyone pays attention to.

If that sounds a bit harsh, don’t fret. Knowing exactly how to write copy to increase readers and conversions is your best defense against a B2B site that no one follows. Here are some stellar recommendations on precisely how to write for the web, so that you can write content for exactly how people read on the web.

It Starts With the F-Shaped Pattern

Anyone who’s done even a bit of research on how people read on the web will have at least heard of the notorious F-shaped pattern, at least in passing. Based on solid research, the F-shaped pattern is the most definitive study out there on exactly how people read on the web. As the name implies, people read web copy in an F-shaped pattern.

Many Won’t Even Read All That You Write

A sad but true fact about Internet reading is that many people simply don’t bother reading everything on any given page—this includes your landing page, for instance.

According to research done by Slate, many readers will never, ever finish reading everything that you paste on a page. If your copy is too long for them to finish, too bulky, or not properly formatted for skimming and scanning, they might miss the important message you want to convey.

The typical online reader actually fully absorbs just 60% of the average online article. This obviously makes a really good case for writing web copy that’s short, succinct and to the point—or at least breaking longer-form content into easy-to-scan and digestible paragraphs of only a few lines in length.

Some folks still think that putting copy and other content below the fold is a sure conversion killer because hardly anyone will read it or click through on it. They couldn’t be more incorrect. This so-called “conventional wisdom” is still prevalent, unfortunately, in some corners because of a lack of information, but we’re doing our part to help change that.

A good deal of both research and analysis has been invested as of late into the question of above or below the fold. The conclusion being drawn from this investigation is that the placement of call to action buttons above the fold is a lie that’s not substantiated by the evidence. Some landing pages actually perform better with a call to action button below the fold; others perform just as good as landing pages with the call to action button in the first 600 vertical pixels.

In reality, what’s happening here has nothing to do with the fold. What’s going on is all about the copy on the page. If your copy presents your buyers with a great value proposition that motivates them to continue reading the copy even below the fold, then they will click on the call to action button—even if it’s way below the fold.

Simply put, your readers will scroll through their page if something compels them to. The mission of all the copy you have above the fold is to get them interested enough to continue. That’s why it’s advisable to captivate your audience with a compelling value proposition. Create one, and your readers will go below the fold without any issues at all.

If you’re interested in reading more about the studies behind long homepage design and how to create pages that your audience will scroll through, you can check out our conversion analysis and the design considerations.

Scanning Pages Is Infinitely More Preferable to Reading Them

Even if you’ve spent a lot of time and effort composing copy, your online readers will invariable prefer to just scan what you have written. Even the people who read online articles (60% of them, as we stated above) are given to scanning a page instead of fully and thoroughly reading the copy word for word. This means that people reading on the Internet are not the most engrossed bunch.

In fact, this lack of commitment to reading copy fully can be explained in one of three ways:

Readers are simply in a hurry because users on the Internet are motivated by trying to save time

Readers understand perfectly well that they don’t really have to read everything because, usually, they’re just searching for what’s personally relevant to them or what can help them achieve the task they’re pursuing

Readers are already so well-trained in scanning pages from years and years of scanning print (newspapers, magazines, textbooks, novels, etc.) that they’re used to it and good at it

When you’re writing web copy, never approach it with the mentality of thinking that you’re going to be writing the next Pulitzer Prize-winning piece.

How to Write for People Reading on the Web

Now that we’ve explained to you in detail how your audience actually reads on the web, we’re going to give you one killer recommendation after another on how to specifically write for them. After all, your time is precious, and so is theirs.

Make Your Text Very Scannable

One of the most fundamental recommendations that Jakob Nielsen has championed over the decades is to make your site copy extremely scannable. So what does text that’s easy to scan look like? It has to include the following features as much as possible:

Highlighted keywords that rely on a combination of hypertext links, different colors and variations in typeface

Subheadings or subtitles that are relevant to users instead of attempts at being clever

Bulleted lists for easy retention of information

Only one main idea or topic per paragraph to limit the number of readers skipping the section

Use of the inverted pyramid, where copy begins with the conclusion instead of the introduction

Reduction in the word count from what would normally occur in conventional writing

Place the Most Important Stuff in the Top Left Corner

This recommendation ties into the research finding that people on the Internet mainly read pages in an F-shaped pattern. When people start reading in this pattern, they begin in the top, left corner of a page since the top bar of the F begins in that area. Put important information in your copy in this portion of the page, and chances are greater than ever that they won’t ignore or miss it.

The F-shaped pattern is further bolstered by something called the Gutenberg diagram, which simply splits up a webpage into four quadrants. The one at the top left is the primary optical area, and the top right quadrant will be the second-most looked-at area because readers’ eyes generally go there next. Finally, readers will view the bottom left quadrant next (the weak visual area) and end their gaze movement in the bottom right of the screen, which is obviously the terminal area.

On a point of interest, it’s therefore advisable to put the call to action button in this terminal area. This is not a hard and fast rule, but, rather, just something that’s a logical follow through from where the average reader’s eye movement will end.

Chunk Your Web Copy and Keep Paragraphs Short

In keeping with the reality that readers on the Internet are basically addicted to scanning through copy instead of thoroughly reading it, it’s highly recommended that you write in short paragraphs when you write for the web.

Writing copy that is easily digestible and manageable involves simple sentences, short paragraphs, and an 8th grade vocabulary. When you make information easier to absorb by shortening the paragraph length, you naturally encourage readers to read more because it won’t seem nearly as overwhelming to them upon first glance.

Chunking your information into shorter paragraphs has psychological benefits for readers. Instead of interpreting a page on your B2B site as overwhelming them if the formatting of the text runs from the top to the bottom of the screen, readers will find the task easier to do. The task of reading seems less like a chore with shorter paragraphs, but more of an enjoyment that can provide them with relevant information quite efficiently.

Write Attention-Grabbing, Super-Clear Headlines

You may have heard it said that people really only read headlines until something grabs their attention, and that’s true. Successfully writing for how people read on the web involves a laser-beam focus on how you’re formatting all of your copy. The place to start, of course, is with your headlines since that’s where people’s attention is first drawn.

But how do you craft headlines that command the attention of your buyers, readers and site visitors?

For starters, your headlines ought to be relevant and full of information for your readers; that way, they’ll find that combination very interesting and more cooperatively continue reading down the copy.

Focus on your formatting and prevent yourself from pasting huge walls of text on your pages. Huge block of text will repel your site visitors, and they won’t even bother with reading or scanning through your site copy.

Conclusion

People’s reading habits on the web are very different than their reading habits when they have a book, magazine or newspaper in their hands. This means that you have to tailor your B2B site’s whole written content—landing page copy, blog posts, etc.—to the unique and sometimes unexpected behavior of online readers. Failure to do so means a low-converting B2B site, which is what you want to avoid at all costs.

Writing web copy doesn’t mean that you have to be the best and most literate wordsmith around. On the contrary: It means knowing exactly who your audience is on the Internet and what they expect. Thus, you have to present them with nothing but highly relevant, chunked content that’s properly placed on a page, with regard to eye-tracking studies’ findings. Do this, and more readers will pay attention to your content.

Do you now see how reading on the web is very different than reading something in print?

Have you been making some of these mistakes with the copy of your B2B site?

How do you think you can implement some of these recommendations to create a wonderful reading experience for your site visitors?

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Marc Schenker is a copywriter, editor and all-around good guy to know from Vancouver. He writes mainly about web design, marketing, photography and some politics. With a taste for psychology, he's always working hard on self-improvement.

About market8

Market 8 is a team of web, usability and conversion experts that will turn your website into your best salesperson. We create research-based websites that shorten sales cycles by aligning exactly to the way your buyers want to buy. We are also the creators of Simplex CORE, a smart framework used by B2B firms around the globe to jumpstart their websites using the HubSpot CMS and integrating the latest usability standards.